SPRING HOPE — Chief among the topics bantered by the Downtown Development Board on May 19 were a pair of civic networking events in the area. 

The first, a Business After Hours reception held May 1 at the Peachtree Hills Country Club, led the members to discuss the facilitation of future dates.  

“At the very beginning when we talked about it, I think we came up with $100 to give to the business that was willing to host it to help with the refreshments,” said Claris Bissette, appearing on behalf of the Spring Hope Chamber of Commerce. “At least $100 will help you get, you know, some snacks of some kind. So I think the chamber is perfectly willing to stick to that — that’s what they’ve already said for Business After Hours.”

Following some discussion, it was decided the next gathering will be held at 6 p.m. June 12 at MarZylos Cocktail Lounge and Grill, 522 E. Nash St.

Another social assembly, “Sip and Stroll,” was also deliberated, with the board agreeing substantive research needs to be done as to the formation and function of social districts involving the sale of alcohol.  

“My understanding of how social districts work is you have glasses or stickers. They have to be designated, only certain venues are actually permitted to participate. You can’t just have, you know, random people serving liquor, that kind of thing,” said Town Manager Andrew DeIonno. “So that’s something that’s got to be a lot more deliberative. We’d have to run everything past the town attorney, so it’s gonna take more time.”  

The board pondered the creation of a Facebook page for the town that, with proper oversight, could be used as a base for the attachment of other civic-minded groups. 

“I like that you guys are working on a town page,” board member Brandi Jobe said in support of the notion. “Because if there’s a singular town page, then the town can share all the DDB posts, you can share the chamber’s posts, all the different stuff going on — so that can be that … one place everybody goes.”

DeIonno immediately agreed. 

“Everyone has told me it has been a glaring absence for the town not to have a Facebook page,” he said, before noting its primary use would be area awareness. 

To that end, board member Devin Keaton suggested a hybrid use for the platform. 

“Yeah, because in my opinion, if you have a certain thing that you’re trying to advocate then, yeah, let’s push it,” Keaton said. “But if it’s just awareness, it’s very vague, it’s very broad. It’s hard to shoot that out and expect results.”

Keaton also suggested his brother, a software developer, would be able to help develop the page.

Ultimately, the item was tabled until June.  

The final matter of new business involved board members’ meeting attendance, covered in a copy of the Downtown Development Board’s bylaws distributed by Pam Brantley. 

A discussion about the artwork to be used for the town’s logo developed, with Jobe making an interesting point about anything customized.  

“Another aspect of the logo thing is when we do choose something, we’ve got to choose something that’s gonna transfer well,” she remarked. “If it’s got too much detail or too many little pieces, it won’t scale or you’ll have trouble, like, embroidering it on hats and stuff like that. So while I understand where you guys are coming from, it can only be so detailed to be able to use it for a logo.”

Further talk on the design, which included AI and local solutions, was tabled until June. 

• The election of a chair and vice chair was tabled until July. 

• “Rock Your Block,” the town’s lawn beautification contest, had its deadline for entries extended until June 8 due to inclement weather. Further, submissions will now be accepted from anyone with a Spring Hope ZIP code.  

• The board’s next work session was slated for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 28, at MarZylos. 

• DeIonno provided an update on the depot restoration project, which entered the second round of bidding on May 20. 

• Keaton advised that Autobarn’s fleet of vehicles has been relocated to his Georgia dealership, paving the way for Spring Hope Studios to occupy the same space. Renovations, he said, are scheduled to begin this month. 

• The Downtown Development Board’s next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, June 16, at Town Hall, 118 W. Railroad St.